Feasibility studies in the Northern Territory are being carried out despite the State Government’s lack of support for Ord Stage 3, and the Northern Land Council’s very public declaration that it is a “pie in the sky” project that “is going nowhere”.
Northern Territory Minister for Primary Industry, Ken Vowles, said the new Labor Government would not be “actively pursuing” the Ord Stage 3 expansion and was keen to focus on opportunities around Katherine instead.
The feasibility study is seen as the Northern Territory meeting its obligations to a pre-existing intergovernmental agreement.
In a statement from the Northern Territory Government, it confirmed Ord Stage 3 had retained its major project status, but was “a lower priority” project, and that the dedicated Ord Development Unit had been dissolved into the Northern Territory’s Major Agribusiness Projects division.
